Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Booking your next vacation may take a lot of time to complete, especially if you’re the busy kind of person. Chances are you will be seeking the help of a travel agent to furnish your trip based on your preferences instead, as you don’t have the time to work on it on your own.

But what if you’re not into coordinating with an agent to furnish your travel needs? Well, you can still do things on your own, but this time you will need an assistant-your phone.

There are many ways in which you can use your phone to book your next vacation. And yes, it is capable of doing the job right, so you don’t have to worry a bit. Here’s a step-by-step guide that you can follow:

Step 1: Download a travel app.

Mobile travel apps are rampant nowadays, and if you’re working on your vacation plans then you should get a travel app on your phone right away. There are many travel apps that you can check out depending on your preparation needs. There’s the TripAdvisor app which allows you to browse on different hotels in the destinations you intend to visit, as well as user reviews that can help you choose the best hotel to book at.

There are also other travel apps that provide you with full packaged tour deals which include hotels, itineraries and mode of transport. You may want to take advantage of these too as they cut the time you have to spend working on your vacation needs.

Step 2: Start booking.

When you use the apps you’ve downloaded, you may want to proceed with booking right on your phone after making your choices. You can book reservations right on these apps, as most of them are already integrated with booking sites that can process your orders.

Booking also depends on the app you’re using. For apps that cater to hotels only, then you can proceed with making a reservation through them on your phone. You will then be guided to a customer service representative who will take charge of confirming your order and create a reservation that would be ready for use once paid.

You don’t have to pay upfront when making a reservation. Some reservations are open for a week or so, until you decide to confirm, change the dates or cancel it. The important thing is you already have a template to follow or use for your travel plans.

Step 3: Check for the nearby amenities.

Before you actually pay your reservation, you may want to look at the available attractions, amenities and highlights in your chosen destination. These include the parks, museums, nearby beaches and other tourist landmarks that you will enjoy checking out. You can do this right on your smartphone using other apps, or via Wikipedia.

Doing this is very important because you are given a better picture of what to expect from your vacation; you cannot just rely on your friend's pictures and feedback in case they’ve been to the places you want to visit otherwise you might end up regretting your holiday in the long run.

For example, if you are planning to visit New England and would want to exercise your gambling skills, you may want to look for a nearby casino Connecticut is famous for or Vermont. You may not book a reservation in these establishments, but you can visit them to play your favorite games during the course of your vacation.

Step 4:Confirm and pay.

Once you have finalized your reservations, your chosen hotels and itineraries, airfares and even the choice of amenities you’d like to check out, then you can go ahead and confirm your bookings. There are many travel apps these days that allow you to make orders and pay for your purchases right on your own phone.

Some apps would redirect you to their affiliate companies that will take charge of securing your payment. Most online payments are completed using credit cards such as Visa or MasterCard, so you should prepare your cards when securing your reservations. Some on the other hand prefer online payment systems, such as PayPal, as these are more convenient in terms of processing.

Step 5: Tally your itinerary.

Finally, when everything’s secured and paid for, it’s time for you to tally your itinerary right on your phone. There are apps that allow you to do this, such as TripIt. These apps prepare your travel plan based on your purchased packages, and once you’re on your trip you kept from being lost from your intended travel activities.

Travel organizer apps help a lot in keeping you on track during your vacation. Sure, they can be a bit OC, but they give you the advantage of maxing out the limited time you have on your holiday. You can only do as much during your vacation, thus you’d have to make the most of it.

A few more vacation planning tips

When planning out your next vacation, think about this: what do you want to do during your time away from home? This will give you the foundations of the kind of vacation to get, no matter how silly it would seem to be for some. But the bottom line is, if it’s how you want to spend your vacation, then by all means-go for it.

Also, when planning your vacation, you should do it at the right timing. You may want to settle at a time when tourists are not flocking vacation hotspots, as the rates of hotels, tours and transport are relatively much cheaper. You can also score discounted deals that would allow you to save more money in the long run.

Lastly, plan your trip early. Early birds always get the best deals. If you do your travel planning ahead of time, you are able to look at more choices, even if you intend to go during the peak season. Early planning also gives more time to gather your resources and save more money for travel expenses until your departure date comes.

Author Bio:

Bill Powers is a freelance writer who loves to write about vacations, traveling and exotic locations. He also writes for Foxwoods Resort; follow them on Twitter and Facebook.